Sharpe James
Encyclopedia
Sharpe James is a Democratic
politician and convicted felon from New Jersey
, who served as State Senator
for the 29th Legislative District and was 35th Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. James was the second African American
Mayor of Newark
and served five four-year terms before declining to run for re-election. From June 1999 until leaving his position as Mayor in July 2006, James simultaneously served as Mayor of Newark and New Jersey State Senator. He declined to run for re-election to the State Senate in 2007; his term as Senator expired in January 2008. Prior to politics, James worked as a teacher, athletic director and professor at Essex County College.
On July 12, 2007, following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, a federal grand jury
sitting in Newark indicted
James on 25 counts that include mail fraud, wire fraud
and conspiracy
. James pled not guilty and his trial on five counts of fraud began March 4, 2008.
On April 16, 2008, James was convicted of five counts of fraud by a federal jury. On July 29, 2008, he was sentenced by Judge William J. Martini
to 27 months in prison.
in education from Montclair State University
and a M.A. in physical education from Springfield College
. He received the 1961 Department of Physiology Award from that school, and later completed postgraduate studies at Washington State University
, Columbia University
, and Rutgers University
. He also served with the U.S. Army
in Germany. In 1988, James was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Montclair State University, and, in 1991, an Honorary Doctorate from Drew University
.
In December 1992, James was a member of the New Jersey State Electoral College, one of 15 electors casting their votes for the Clinton/Gore ticket.
In June 1999, while serving as Mayor, James was appointed to the New Jersey Senate
to fill out the unexpired term of the late Senator Wynona Lipman
, and won election to that seat the following November. He was re-elected for a full term in November 2001 and continued to hold both offices. His Senate district encompassed part of Newark in Essex County
and all of the Township of Hillside
in Union County
.
Sharpe James became known in his early years as mayor for often wearing jogging suits in public and making high-profile efforts to attract development to Downtown Newark
. In 1997, Newark saw the completion of the acclaimed New Jersey Performing Arts Center
. In 2006, James championed the relocation of the New Jersey Devils
to the City of Newark. The Prudential Center is the newest arena in the Newark metropolitan area.
In terms of housing, James' policy in the 1990s was to demolish Newark's massive, but mostly abandoned, housing projects, and replace them with small scale public housing or market rate middle class residences.
James has become known as an example of "machine politics." Running dirty campaigns, using the police force as his own army of intimidation, and attacking the heritage of his opponents is the only way James retained power.
On March 16, 2006, James filed for reelection. On March 27, 2006, James announced that he would not seek a sixth term. On April 9, 2007, James said that he would not seek re-election to his State Senate seat.
.
James' co-defendant and former girlfriend, Tamika Riley, was also found guilty on those five counts and eight others, including tax evasion.
The United States Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey was led by New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie, who at the time was the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
. The judge presiding over James' case was William J. Martini
, a former New Jersey congressman.
After 18 months in prison, James was released on April 6, 2010. While in prison, he wrote a 17 chapter book titled "A Sharpe View."
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician and convicted felon from New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, who served as State Senator
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
for the 29th Legislative District and was 35th Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. James was the second African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Mayor of Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
and served five four-year terms before declining to run for re-election. From June 1999 until leaving his position as Mayor in July 2006, James simultaneously served as Mayor of Newark and New Jersey State Senator. He declined to run for re-election to the State Senate in 2007; his term as Senator expired in January 2008. Prior to politics, James worked as a teacher, athletic director and professor at Essex County College.
On July 12, 2007, following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, a federal grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
sitting in Newark indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
James on 25 counts that include mail fraud, wire fraud
Wire fraud
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
and conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
. James pled not guilty and his trial on five counts of fraud began March 4, 2008.
On April 16, 2008, James was convicted of five counts of fraud by a federal jury. On July 29, 2008, he was sentenced by Judge William J. Martini
William J. Martini
William J. "Bill" Martini is a United States district court judge for the District of New Jersey, having served in this position since November 19, 2002...
to 27 months in prison.
Education
James earned a B.A.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in education from Montclair State University
Montclair State University
Montclair State University is a public research university located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, the Great Notch area of Little Falls, and Clifton, New Jersey. As of October 2009, there were 18,171 total enrolled students: 14,139 undergraduate students and 4,032 graduate students...
and a M.A. in physical education from Springfield College
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private, coeducational university located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College is most famous as the site where the sport of basketball was invented...
. He received the 1961 Department of Physiology Award from that school, and later completed postgraduate studies at Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. He also served with the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in Germany. In 1988, James was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Montclair State University, and, in 1991, an Honorary Doctorate from Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
.
Public office
Sharpe James was first elected to public office in 1970 as South Ward Councilman. He was first elected Mayor of Newark on May 13, 1986, and was sworn into office on July 1 of that year. He was the first Newark mayor to run unopposed when he sought re-election in 1990 and handily won re-election in 1994 and 1998. Sharpe James became Newark's longest-serving mayor when he was re-elected for an unprecedented fifth term in 2002, a year after being named Mayor of the Year by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors.In December 1992, James was a member of the New Jersey State Electoral College, one of 15 electors casting their votes for the Clinton/Gore ticket.
In June 1999, while serving as Mayor, James was appointed to the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
to fill out the unexpired term of the late Senator Wynona Lipman
Wynona Lipman
Wynona Moore Lipman was an American Democratic Party politician who represented the 29th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate...
, and won election to that seat the following November. He was re-elected for a full term in November 2001 and continued to hold both offices. His Senate district encompassed part of Newark in Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
and all of the Township of Hillside
Hillside, New Jersey
Hillside is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 21,404.Hillside was incorporated as a township on April 3, 1913, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1913.The town...
in Union County
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
.
Sharpe James became known in his early years as mayor for often wearing jogging suits in public and making high-profile efforts to attract development to Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark is Newark, New Jersey's major central business, retail, and cultural district. It is located at a bend in the Passaic River.Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark. The first settlers, led by Robert Treat, landed not far from the present site of the New...
. In 1997, Newark saw the completion of the acclaimed New Jersey Performing Arts Center
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...
. In 2006, James championed the relocation of the New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
to the City of Newark. The Prudential Center is the newest arena in the Newark metropolitan area.
In terms of housing, James' policy in the 1990s was to demolish Newark's massive, but mostly abandoned, housing projects, and replace them with small scale public housing or market rate middle class residences.
Political life
1986 was James's closest election. He challenged and defeated Kenneth Gibson, Newark's first African American Mayor.James has become known as an example of "machine politics." Running dirty campaigns, using the police force as his own army of intimidation, and attacking the heritage of his opponents is the only way James retained power.
On March 16, 2006, James filed for reelection. On March 27, 2006, James announced that he would not seek a sixth term. On April 9, 2007, James said that he would not seek re-election to his State Senate seat.
Fraud conviction
On April 16, 2008, Sharpe James was convicted on five counts of fraud by a federal jury for conspiring to rig the sale of nine city lots to his mistress, who quickly resold them for hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit. James (federal inmate number 28791-050) served his 2-year prison sentence in a federal prison camp in Petersburg, VirginiaPetersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
.
James' co-defendant and former girlfriend, Tamika Riley, was also found guilty on those five counts and eight others, including tax evasion.
The United States Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey was led by New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Governor Chris Christie, who at the time was the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. Paul J. Fishman was sworn into office as U.S. Attorney on October 14, 2009 after having been nominated by President Barack Obama. He succeeded Ralph J. Marra, who served as Acting U.S....
. The judge presiding over James' case was William J. Martini
William J. Martini
William J. "Bill" Martini is a United States district court judge for the District of New Jersey, having served in this position since November 19, 2002...
, a former New Jersey congressman.
After 18 months in prison, James was released on April 6, 2010. While in prison, he wrote a 17 chapter book titled "A Sharpe View."